Comfortable around a live fire from a young age, Evan’s culinary experience ranges from fine dining, at Hudson’s On the Bend, to barbecue at Hill Country Barbecue in NYC. He’s lived around the country in Florida, New York, and his hometown of Austin. As the founding Pitmaster and Executive Chef at Freedmen’s, he offered innovative takes on traditional cuts of meat and flavor profiles such as Bacon Ribs with Bourbon Fish Sauce Caramel, King Ranch Chicken Sausage, and his signature Pulled Pork made with fish sauce, to name a few. Under his leadership, Freedmen’s was named the #2 spot on former Austin American-Statesman food writer Mike Sutter’s Top 10 BBQ list in 2015 and was the official newcomer at the lauded Texas Monthly Barbecue Festival in the same year. He has traveled to Australia and Russia, to train and work with prospective pitmasters and has been known for his openness to teaching and sharing smoking secrets.

In 2014, Evan was named one of Zagat’s 30 Under 30 rising stars in the Austin culinary scene. He has also taken home awards at the Quesoff (Best Overall & Meat Categories 2014), the Austin Meatball Festival (Critic’s Choice) as well as multiple wins at the Austin Hot Sauce Festival. Evan has appeared on The Food Network’s Burgers, Brew & Que, FYI’s Food Porn, and in 2014, he took home the title of “Austin Grill Master” on the Travel Channel’s American Grilled Texas episode.